As we mark the 2018 international day International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation we need to accelerate efforts of raising awareness and encourage concrete actions to stop the harmful practice.

Mũkoma wa Ngũgi explores a redefinition of what ‘icon’ means in the African context, the unearthing of names that are all too often forgotten, the invisibility of female icons in our historical narratives, and the nature and role of the diaspora in our cultural, political and economic production

A sellout is someone who betrays his own principles and his followers for personal venality. Where is the evidence that South Africa's Mandela betrayed himself and deceived his countrymen for self-gain?

Nigerian businessman and impresario Paul Okoye organised one of the most impressive showcase of African and Afrobeats talent in the inaugural One Africa Music Fest at the Barclays Center Arena in Brooklyn, New York City.

We all enjoy sex but we don’t really talk about it – one reason that the topic of sextech is so emotionally charged. Artificial intelligence has boldly entered the global (and, more recently, the African) sex market, bringing with it a revolution in robotic sextech designed to provide sexual gratification that is eerily almost human.

The impression that Intimate partner violence (IPV) only occurs in heterosexual relationships where the man is stereotypically the aggressor is a false and dated idea. Lesbian women can, in fact, be perpetrators and victims of this form of violence.

Taking a drug normally prescribed to treat AIDS as a way to shield against the deadly disease; known as PrEP; is catching on, and proponents hope that it will soon have a measurable impact in reducing the number of infections.

The Lives of Great Men a memoir by Frankie Edozien is Nigeria’s first book about LGBTQ Life. Edozien, a lecturer at the New York University captured the lives of gay men on the continent and the challenges they face. Edozien is the first Nigerian to write a nonfiction book on being a gay man.

Despite the work being done to raise awareness in society about sex workers as people worthy of respect, they are often still treated as lepers. Why is it that we only seem capable of an empathetic response once older women enter the ‘world’s oldest profession’? asks Lineo Segoete

African feminist activists should be the reference point from which we hear about girls’ educations across the continent. Three activists from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zambia discuss strategies that they have implemented to promote girls’ and young women’s education in their respective countries.

A sellout is someone who betrays his own principles and his followers for personal venality. Where is the evidence that South Africa's Mandela betrayed himself and deceived his countrymen for self-gain?

The definition of democracy on the continent has been restricted to holding elections. Many African leaders forget that protests and online dissent is very much part of democracy. Elections are just a part of democracy, and democracy entails a full spectrum of economic, social and political freedoms, which include citizens' rights to protest and express their voices and concern.

Funerals honour the life of the deceased. Nigeria’s elaborate and expensive funerals are rooted in history and are not unique to that country. But, says Cosmic Yoruba, the high costs and expectations surrounding these events can place a strain on the wallet and the emotions

Our liberation icons remain important – warts and all. They do not need to fade from our continental consciousness of liberation struggle history, nor from the struggles that are continually faced in contemporary times.

Zimbabweans have been celebrating Robert Mugabe's demise but the new administration could fail to bring change. The opposition and civic groups urgently need to regroup and intensify the fight for reforms in the electoral, media and security sectors to ensure holistic change.

Mũkoma wa Ngũgi explores a redefinition of what ‘icon’ means in the African context, the unearthing of names that are all too often forgotten, the invisibility of female icons in our historical narratives, and the nature and role of the diaspora in our cultural, political and economic production

UN Resident Coordinator Siddharth Chatterjee has one of those CVs that will blow you away. Sneak a peek at his Twitter bio and you will see what we are talking about. Ex Indian Special Forces. Ex Red Cross. Princeton alumnus. And a presiding don of the opinion pages at Huffington Post and Reuters. We’re sure you see what we are talking about. He’s a man worth paying attention to. We’re glad he recently spared a few minutes to sit down for an interview with Dr Diana Wangari who brings us the scoop.

Good career advice is hard to come by. Fortunately for all of us, Dr Jacqueline M. Applegate, the subject of a new interview on This Is Africa has it in spades. “In order to excel in your career, my advice is to be 100% committed to figuring out how to make your dreams a reality. Take the cards you’ve been dealt, play your hand well, and enjoy the journey!”

The Arterial Network recently launched an ambitious programme that aims to create social change through cultural action and cultural policy in four African cities. Sophia Olivia Sanan spoke to five of the organisation’s members to find out more.

The African continent is going through a political renaissance unlike any we have seen in some time. Zimbabwe recently had a coup, which was not really a coup. Kenya has two emergent leaders claiming power, South Africa's Jacob Zuma has fallen and now Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has resigned.

Zimbabwe has lost a hero with the passing of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai (65), a colossal, brave and charismatic leader who tirelessly fought for democracy. Save, as Tsvangirai was affectionately known was undoubtedly the most effective opposition leader in Zimbabwe since independence. Tsvangirai dedicated his life to fighting autocracy. We share with you 10 of his profound quotes.

Jacob Zuma has finally announced his resignation as the State President of South Africa, after weeks of negotiations and boisterous calls for his stepping down. Reactions so far show the country is not at all sad to see him leave.

South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) has welcomed President Jacob Zuma's resignation as President of the country. The ANC saluted President Zuma’s “outstanding contribution” in the last nine years he served as President and his role in the party spanning over sixty years. Here is the full statement of the ANC following President Zuma’s resignation.

The National Portrait Gallery unveiled the official presidential likenesses of former US president Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama in a ceremony that was markedly different from those that went before

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma yesterday resigned as President of the country. "I have come to the decision to resign with immediate effect,” he said addressing the media following his recall by the African National Congress (ANC)’s NEC. Here is the full statement of President Zuma's letter of resignation.

France grants citizenship to 28 African World War Two Veterans

By
Fred Obera on April 21, 2017 — French President Francoise Hollande granted citizenship to 28 veteran African soldiers who fought for France during the World War Two. After the war many of these soldiers were denied compensation, and recognition while their French counterparts were rewarded for the same contribution made during the war.

Three members of the Free French foreign legion who distinguished themselves in the battle at Bir Hacheim in the Western desert. They are from Senegal, Equatorial Africa, and Madagascar, respectively. Photo: Wikimedia commons

France has granted citizenship to 28 African soldiers who fought in the Second World War. The veterans from Senegal aged between 78 and 90 were given their citizenship certificates by President Francois Hollande who told the press during the ceremony that the French owed the soldiers “a debt of blood’’.

“France is proud to welcome you, just as you were proud to carry its flag, the flag of freedom,” President Hollande told the veterans at the Elysee Palace in Paris the BBC reported.

The citizenship comes with a number of benefits including full pensions. The veterans previously found it difficult to travel, and with the reward of citizenship, it will ease movement between France and their native country.

For many years France never fully recognized, nor compensated the African war veterans, who gallantly fought during the war.

Rights groups have over the years fervently campaigned and petitioned the French government to recognize soldiers who helped France during the battles against Nazis, where many African soldiers fought and died.

Senegalese soldiers fighting during the World War Two. Photo: Wiki Commons

Poor treatments of WWII African veterans

African troops, mostly from Senegal were recruited, some forcibly by the French colony to fight under the French flag around the world. The soldiers fought in the desert of North Africa, in Germany against Hitler, in the jungles of Burma and against Italian Fascists troops. Many were killed and few survived the deadly battles.

But the French treatment of its veterans of African origin has been a thorny subject for many decades. After the second World War, many of these soldiers were denied their rights, as they were demanding equality while their French counterparts were rewarded for the same contribution during the war.

According to Richard Fogarty, a Historian of Modern France at the University of Albany in New York, there was racism, and exploitation which included violence when African soldiers advocated for equality, better treatment and pay.

About 400 soldiers who demanded for better treatment were mercilessly killed by the French troops when they mutinied over unequal pay and pensions in 1944, and no apology has ever been made by the French government.